Never Let Me Go
by BitterSweetSth
Summary: Damon/OC Stefan finds a girl from Damons past unconscious on their doorstep. Who is she? Why is she back? What is the real reason Damon is the way he is? Dark themes, mentions of rape and abuse, cursing, lemons. You've been warned!
1. On Your Doorstep

**Hi everyone! **

**This is my first VD fanfic, so let me know if I should continue!**

**I'm all for team Delena in the show, 'cause he's faaaar better then Stefan. Blah. **

**But I thought he should get a more interesting story. It'll be a little of everything; drama, fluff, angst, smut and a loot of romance. So Enjoy! And leave a comment. Oh, and beware of lemons!**

**The beginning takes place after the episode Family Ties. Later we'll have to back up a little, but I'll walk you through it. I'll use the characters from the rest of season 1 (Anna, Pearl etc.) later on, so if you haven't seen the whole season, I'll answer any questions. Or..you could just watch it. It's awesome. **

On your doorstep

Elena parked her car outside of the Salvatore boardinghouse and headed for the door. She was just about to knock when she heard a soft whimper from the part of the porch that was completely dark. It past eleven and the sun was long gone, so Elena couldn't really see anything. She stood there for a while and when it was absolutely quiet, she sighed, shaking her head. She knocked and a minute later Stefan opened the door. Elena let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, scolding herself silently. With Damon locked away in the cell, injected with vervain, who else could open the door?

But there was something weird about that night, she could feel the chill running down her spine.

'Hi. Can I come in? I wanted to talk to you about something.' She looked at Stefan, who looked at her puzzled.

'Um… Sure! Look, I'm really so-' he stopped mid-sentence and sniffed the air. Just as Elena was about to ask him what he was doing, he strode past her to the darkest part of the porch and his breath caught in his throat.

'Oh my fucking God!' He whispered.

'Stefan? What is it?' Elena went to stand next to him and immediately saw the source of the whimper she heard earlier.

There, sitting with her back against the wall, was a pale girl. She had dried blood almost everywhere and she was definitely unconscious. She was extremely pale, looked starved and weak, but even then Elena could tell she was beautiful. Long hair the color of dark gold were tumbling in big curls down her shoulders and back, she had full, red lips and was wearing a short, dark blue, strapless dress.

'Who is that Stefan?' Elena asked frantically, crouching next to the girl, not knowing how to help her. 'You know her?'

Stefan shook his head, shock written clearly on his face. 'Um… no, not exactly. Damon does, though.' He said, kneeling down beside Elena.

'Well, take her inside! It's cold and dark out here and she needs help' Elena almost shouted, not registering fully his answer. Right now, she had bigger worries.

Stefan lifted the girl carefully and carried her to the couch.

'Elena I don't hear a heartbea-' he was cut off by a soft whimper coming from the girls mouth. She was in serious pain. 'Oh, Shit.'

'What is it Stefan?' Elena was getting a little panicky, and she was just about to call 911 when Stefan rushed to the kitchen, his words stopping her immediately.

'Don't. She's a vampire'

Elena got up quickly and followed him. He opened the fridge, taking out two bags of blood.

'What are you doing? What's wrong with her?' Elena desperately wanted to know what was going on.

'She was poisoned. Vervain.' Stefan quickly found two straws and pierced each bag. He handed one to Elena 'Give her this, make sure she drinks it'

Elena complied, taking the bag from him and rushing back to the living room.

Stefan ran vampire speed to Damon's cell. He stopped for a beat when he reached the door, but it wasn't even a choice. He barged in and sat Damon straight. He showed the straw into his face.

'Drink up. You're not going to believe what just happened upstairs.'

XXXXXXXXX

Back in the living room, Elena fed the girl blood, but she remained unconscious. She started to look a little better though and Elena hoped she'd wake up soon. She didn't know what was happening or where was Stefan, but she focused on helping the girl on the couch.

Suddenly the door to the cellar burst opened and in came Damon. He looked a bit better but still a bit sick. Elena took a few steps back and was just about to yell at Stefan, who came in right after Damon, when she saw Damon's face.

He stopped dead the second he registered the girl still laying on the couch. His face was absolute shock, his blue eyes big with surprise. That lasted a mere second before the unconscious blond moaned with pain and mover a bit.

The sound seemed to bring Damon back and he was kneeling beside the couch in an instant, hugging the girl, running his hands through her hair, kissing her face.

Elena was shocked, this was so not Damon that she took a step forward. She was able to see his face then, he looked so happy it hurt. His eyes shined with love and worry, he pressed a kiss to the girls forehead, whispering so quietly Elena wasn't sure she heard it.

'Nicole'

**Let me know what you think! Should I continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm back, hopefully for good. Let me know what you think of this new chapter!**

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'Nicole'

The word, uttered again and again, hung in the air. Elena stood frozen on the spot, not knowing what to do. She has never seen Damon so tender, so gentle, so… scared? Damon didn't get scared. It was all more than she could process.

Stefan, on the other hand, didn't seem so shocked. He stayed behind the couch for a minute but after a minute or two he disappeared in the kitchen, probably to fetch more blood for the couple.

As for Damon, he didn't seem to be paying attention to anything but the girl, still unconscious on the couch. He never stopped repeating her name in a hushed whisper while checking her over for injuries. When she moaned in pain again, he stiffened and the veins around his eyes popped out in anger. Restlessly combing his fingers through her rich, golden locks, he turned around suddenly.

'STEFAN' His voice boomed through the house 'Get the blood here, right now. What the fuck is this? Did you hurt her? I'll kill you, you stupid son of a bitch!' He looked like he wanted to do just that but couldn't move, couldn't leave her. He hadn't stopped touching her since he came into the room, it seemed like he was glued to her by some invisible force.

'Calm down, Damon. You can't possibly think it was me. Why would I hurt her? I found her on the doorstep like this, I have no idea why she's even here. But Damon, she's…'

'A vampire, I know. Doesn't matter, really.' Damon didn't seem bothered in the least. He resumed watching her face careful, reaching out a hand in Stefan's direction. He quickly held the pierced blood bag to Nicole's mouth, making sure that she swallowed it all down. When she was done she coughed a little and her back arched, lifting her off the couch. Damon's hand immediately shot out to hold her up, brushing her hair back from her face.

Her eyes shot open, terrified and watery. She looked around frantically, spotting Damon suddenly. The girl froze for a second and then threw herself at him, clutching his neck, crying uncontrollably. He put his arms around her, whispering soothingly in her ear, calming her down.

'What happened baby? What's wrong? What happened to you? Who did this?' Damon seemed relieved that she was awake but at the same time, incredibly worried. He held her to him for a minute but then gently grabbed her chin to look into her eyes. Kissing off her tears, he kept shushing her until her sobs quieted down.

'Honey, you have to talk to me. What's wrong?' She looked at him, a little more sober now.

'D-damon?' she asked, uncertain and confused.

'Of course Nic, who else?' he smiled sadly and hugged her again. She seemed to come to her senses though, because she backed away a bit and with just a moment of hesitation kissed him full on the lips. He didn't seem to mind one bit; grabbing at her greedily, he changed their position so that she was on his lap, with him sitting on the couch.

While they stayed in the frantic liplock, Elena shook out of her stupor and, taking Stefan's hand, she led him to the kitchen.

'OK, spill. What was that? Who is she? What is happening?' She was so confused, had so many questions to ask, she didn't know where to start.

Stefan took a deep breath before replying:

'Her name is Nicole Halding and she's… well I'm not really sure I guess you could say she's Damon's fiancée.' His eyes were sad and kind of glazed over, like he was remembering something that happened a long time ago 'They met in the the fifties, in London. She's English and she was human then. It was the first time since Katherine I've seen Damon interested in anything.

They were together for about two years and I was shocked to discover he wasn't using her, he never even bit her. He told her he was a vampire and it took a while, but she got used to the idea. Her entire family was killed during the war and she had no reason to stay, so they travelled everywhere. The amazing thing was, he seemed happy for the first time since we were human. It was a pretty easy relationship, really, and he asked her to marry him. They were engaged for around 3 months when one day, suddenly, she disappeared. She just didn't come home one time and that was it. He never saw her again.

Damon spent 30 years looking for her but he had to give up finally. Truth is, I was sure she was dead – there was an article in the papers a month after she went missing. It had her picture and it said that she was murdered - Damon refused to believe it but after thirty years he realized that it may be true.

That's all I know – we weren't on good terms even then, when he was happy with someone other than Katherine. I have no idea what she's doing here but whoever took her from him in the 70 years ago must have changed her immediately – she hasn't changed a bit since I last saw her.'

Elena didn't know what to say. She peeked back into the living room and saw Nicole whispering something to Damon very quietly. He had his face in her hair and she was still clutching to him desperately, like she was scared to let him go for even a second.

'I guess I get why he is so messed up now. Anyone would be after something like that. Do you think we should go back in there?'

'No' Stefan quickly replied 'We should leave them alone, at least for the night. Can we go back to your place? Or to the Grill to talk?'

'Sure, let's go'

And with that, they sneaked out through the kitchen door, leaving the reconnecting couple alone.

**OK, now you have the background story, next chapter we'll see what went on in the living room ;)**

**REVIEW PLEASE**


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